8:05 am, May 4, 2023
Lookers has announced it has acquired Chelmsford-based Waterhouse Cars.
Reported via the London Stock Exchange this morning (May 4), the deal – for an undisclosed sum – sees Waterhouse’s Chelmsford Volvo showroom join Lookers along with its 40 staff members.
The acquisition increases Lookers’ Volvo portfolio to five dealerships, with the new Chelmsford showroom joining sites in Colchester, Stockport and Glasgow along with Polestar Spaces and aftersales businesses in Manchester and Glasgow.
Lookers said it intends to plough £2m in the new site on Waterhouse Business Park to ‘ensure it is a state-of-the-art Volvo dealership’.
The listed company also announced plans to redevelop its existing Volvo showroom on Cowdray Avenue in Colchester, investing £2.3m in the transformation to ‘futureproof the site with a focus on aftersales and electric vehicle infrastructure’.
Lookers chief operating officer Duncan McPhee said: ‘Growing our partnership with Volvo remains a priority and our acquisition and the new investment in Chelmsford, as well as our commitment to redevelop our existing dealership in Colchester are steps in the right direction for Lookers.
‘We are delighted to welcome the Waterhouse team to the Group and are excited to be building on our relationship with Volvo as we seek to further extend our footprint of dealerships with this iconic brand across the country.
‘Our acquisition and redevelopment commitments demonstrate our focus on expanding our business and we are actively pursuing a healthy pipeline of opportunities.’
Waterhouse’s Chelmsford site has a Volvo franchise and also operates as a Mercedes-Benz service centre under the name ‘Mercedes-Benz of Chelmsford’.
The business also runs another Mercedes specialist service centre in Braintree. A spokesperson confirmed to Car Dealer that these operations form part of the acquisition.
Writing on Waterhouse’s website, owner Richard Butler said: ‘The Waterhouse family would like to thank all our loyal customers for their business over the last 39 years; it has been our pleasure to help you with your Mercedes-Benz and Volvo cars.
‘We are delighted that you’ll find familiar, friendly faces in the team at Lookers who will be here to assist you in the future.’
Waterhouse began trading in January 1984 with a Mercedes-Benz authorised car servicing and repair centre in Chelmsford.
In December 2012 it expanded its business with the Chelmsford Volvo dealership.
